The biggest upset of the men’s tournament saw David Ferrer go out in four sets to Gilles Simon, who played a great match.  Every now and then, Simon seems to come alive.  He did it against Rafael Nadal in Rome and I remember a great match he played at the US Open against Juan Martin del Potro a few years back.  It sounded like Ferrer was not 100% physically for this match.  Simon goes through to play Marin Cilic in the fourth round… huge opportunities for both.

1. Andy Murray v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (ATP US Open, R4)

I can’t say Murray v Tsonga matches are the most enticing for me, but this promises to be the most intriguing of the four ATP matches for Monday.  Andy Murray has not looked at all convincing this week; in the first round he struggled with cramps, but somehow prevailed in four sets against Robin Haase.  Murray also dropped a set in his third round match to Andrey Kuznetsov.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost a set in his first round match to Juan Monaco, but has since, cruised through the draw.  He defeated Pablo Carreno Busta, 6-4 6-4 6-4 in the third round.

Murray and Tsonga last met in Toronto where the Brit blew a 3-0* third set lead as Tsonga went on to win that match and the title.  It’s hard to know yet whether that tournament was a flash in the pan or it is a concerted change in Tsonga’s fortunes.  He has been very solid this week, but a match-up of this weighting at a Grand Slam will provide a little more insight into Tsonga.  I’m not convinced by Murray, but then i’m not sure where my confidence lies in Tsonga beating Murray in a best of five set match.  Tsonga’s victory over Murray in Canada halted an eight match winning streak for Murray that stretched all the way back to 2008.  I’m not really not sure what to make of this match.  I’m going for Murray, but I don’t really know why.

Prediction: Murray d. Tsonga in 4 sets

2. Kei Nishikori v Milos Raonic (ATP US Open, R4)

Kei Nishikori continues to be a thorn in any of my predictions! At the French Open, he came in with an injury, but I went for him to reach the quarter-finals.  Nishikori was ousted in the first round by Martin Klizan.  At the US Open, he was coming in with few matches after a badly infected toe forced him to pull out of Canada and Cincy… I had him out in round two yet here Kei is in the last 16.  Nishikori has had his ups and downs with injuries this year, but has reached the last 16 at three of the four Grand Slams this year, which is a solid effort.  His draw has been straightforward and he is yet to drop a set all week, which has been an impressive turnaround after the injury.  Nishikori faces Milos Raonic for the third time this year and for the second consecutive time in the last 16 of a Slam.  I personally enjoy watching Nishikori more, but over a best of five set match, I think Raonic is the more reliable and consistent player, and perhaps most important of all, less fragile physically.

Prediction: Raonic d. Nishikori in 4 sets

3. Novak Djokovic v Philipp Kohlschreiber (ATP US Open, R4)

Novak Djokovic has cruised through his first three rounds for the loss of just 18 games.  In the third round, he defeated Sam Querrey, 6-3 6-2 6-2.  His fourth round opponent is Philipp Kohlschreiber, who took out John Isner for the third consecutive year at the round of 32 stage.  Kohlschreiber won all three tiebreakers to beat Isner in four sets 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(2) 7-6(4).  Kohlschreiber is a talented player, but he’s had a very average year up till now.  He’s very capable and will be Djokovic’s toughest challenge of the fortnight so far.  Dont’ be surprised if Philipp gets a set, but I can’t see Djokovic being ousted.

Prediction: Djokovic d. Kohlschreiber in 4 sets

4. Stan Wawrinka v Tommy Robredo (ATP US Open, R4)

The scheduling has been an absolute bitch to Stan Wawrinka.  After playing his second round match on Wednesday night, his third round opponent, Blaz Kavcic pulled out with an injury meaning that Wawrinka will have had four days off.  Some might say that this means he will be fresher, but to not have played for such a long time at a Slam will likely have disrupted his rhythm.  That won’t be the case for Tommy Robredo, who has dug his way through the draw with some tough victories over Simone Bolelli and Nick Kyrgios.  Stan has been extremely erratic in the past few weeks and I think the break he’s endured will not work in his favour.  I still anticipate Stan coming through, but Robredo won’t make this easy.

Prediction: Wawrinka d. Robredo in 5 sets